Abraham Lincoln

Richard Henry Dana Jr. told no one that he was turning 28 because, he wrote on Aug. 1, 1843, “birthdays are not pleasant occasions for hilarity with me and friends always feel bound to make them so.” Nevertheless, I trust Dana would have been delighted to know that friends of his classic “Two Years Before the Mast” would celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth Saturday at the place he once described as “the only romantic spot in California.” Dana could not have foreseen that the promontory he first glimpsed as a young sailor in 1835 would one day be named Dana Point. But he would not have been surprised to learn that he is still remembered for his...

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Richard Henry Dana Jr. told no one that he was turning 28 because, he wrote on Aug. 1, 1843, “birthdays are not pleasant occasions for hilarity with me and friends always feel bound to make them so.” Nevertheless, I trust Dana would have been delighted to...

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